10/10/2006

Hassan Abbasi is the director of Iran’s "National Security Doctrine Centre", a research center affiliated to the Passdaran Revolutionary Guards Corps. These days he has gained a popularity that has him in demand by almost everyone in the country, be it religious groups, political groups, student Basij (Iran militia) and the Student Islamic Associations. In an exclusive interview with Rooz, Hassan Abbasi talks about Iran's nuclear file issues. Here are the excerpts.

Rooz (R): The most important public debate in Iran today is the country nuclear policy and the problems this has brought about in relations with the US and Europe. How did things get this far?Hassan Abbasi (HA): The West and the US in particular had for long been looking for an excuse to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic. Its worth mentioning that Americans are the Anglo-Saxons who moved from Britain to North America. The Islamic Revolution deeply threatened Western interests and so they initially tried to hit us with the human rights issue. But since we are entirely clean in that, they soon realized they can’t pressure us through that. But they have continued their tactics to overthrow the Islamic regime, and in that light are now using the nuclear issue.

HUMINT: Unfortunately the nuclear issue is not about overthrowing the Iranian regime. It never has been and probably never will be. The point here is that the Iranian government has lied over and over again and will be scrutinized for years to come because of their lies. It will take many years for the Islamic Republic to regain its credibility - the international community will give those years to the regime, despite common sense that suggests they should not.

R: But would we have not avoided these problems and even attained our rights had we embarked on a wiser policy?HA: You would be right if the other party had good intentions, which is not the case with US. They pursued the goal of overthrowing the Islamic Republic from day one. Furthermore, they are not honest in their talk of democracy and human rights. What kind of democracy are they talking about? Is it the kind where Zionists decide who should rule and who should not? These are the very same people who will not allow the US to take a position against the national interests of Israel. About human rights, let’s not forget that there is still racial discrimination in America today and there are many poor people there. The previous Iranian administration made the mistake of trusting the West. We should have stood firm right from the first day.

HUMINT: Abbasi is misrepresenting the United States. This is typical of a propagandist. The Civil Rights movement in the United States is still one of the most progressive social movements in the history of mankind. The stories of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are American stories. Abbasi would serve himself well to read up on the American Muslim Malcolm X, particularly his works after his visit to Mecca.

R: At whatever cost to us?HA: Take note of Imam Hussein’s (2nd Shiite Imam) logo not to heed to aggressors. Especially those that want to control not only Iran, but the whole world. These are the people who want to completely destroy Islam. One should not retreat even an inch vis-à-vis such people.

HUMINT: The lessons of Imam Hussein are lost on Abbasi and the Iranian dictatorship. Imam Hussein as well as Imam Ali would not abide by what the Iranian government is calling Islam today. Any impartial observer would note that the lives of Ali and Hussein, lived in service to Allah, stand in contrast to the blastphemous Iranian government.

R: So you do not think that we could have given them a little and attained something large in return?HA: They have no sincerity and so we cannot trust them. It is a system that has been trying for 27 years to destroy the most democratic regime in the world. The issue is that if you gave in just an inch, you’d become an American colony. Just look at Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. The other issue is that this is not the only and last demand that the US has or will have from us. In a short time, when things start rolling they will even ask us to officially recognize Israel. Then they will impose their version of human rights on us. The list of their demands will grow. They have no other goal but to eliminate Islam and the Islamic regime. They have culturally and tirelessly worked on our youth and have been successful in some areas. Discussions of Western human rights and democracy are attractive issues for Iranian youth. Reformist betrayed the regime when they were unable or unwilling to prevent this attraction. Why do we have to celebrate Valentines day in Iran? Why do the Iranian youth look like imported Westerners? They are promoting evil and Western fashions. These are painful issues that successful Western strategies have imposed upon our society. We need multifaceted confrontation of these issues. A mere ban or harsh reaction would not be practical and successful. The Iranian youth needs to be informed of true Islamic teachings. We really need a cultural revolution for this.

HUMINT: Abbasi uses the term democracy incorrectly and probably does so on purpose. The Iranian regime is by definition - a dictatorship.

R: What will be the outcome of the nuclear issue?HA: Based on our information, the US would not be satisfied even if we aborted our nuclear program or even if they overthrew the regime itself. America knows that Islamic roots are very strong among people. The US plans to take advantage of the ethnic gaps in Iran and spread it to seven countries, which is what it is seriously pursuing now. Today the Islamic Republic is the biggest barrier for US designs in the Middle East. We should persevere in our resistance. Imam Khomeini was right when he loudly claimed that US can’t do a damn thing in Iran. America knows well that attacking Iran would endanger its interests and severely increase the price of oil. We are able to endanger both, US security and its economic interests anywhere in the world.

HUMINT: Any nation with such resources harbors the capacity to endanger global security and economic interests. This is the nature of an oligarchy running a petroleum oligopoly. No man has ever been more wrong about the United States of America than Imam Khomeini. The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran was ideologically and theologically retarded.